1	Summerfest 2004 Austin, Texas Aug 7, 2004 Introduction to DXing and Contesting
2	Big Gun or Little Pistol
3	What We’ll Cover - DX Basics of DXing Cool tips for finding and working DX Station requirements Resources for DXing like a Big Gun Logging and QSLing Going for the Gold DX awards to impress your friends!
4	What We’ll Cover - Contesting What kind of ham enters a contest? What’s the object? Getting started in contesting The variety of contest types How to win a contest Online contesting resources
5	Getting Started in DXing Gale Zeiler WBøYEA
6	DX - Where Is It? All Bands (160-6m) Including the 30, 17 and 12m WARC bands Mostly the low end of the band All Modes (CW, SSB, Digital) Daily/Weekly Nets List Nets Contests DXpeditions DX Packet Cluster – Real Time Spotting
7	Best Conditions For DXing Function of 11 year sunspot cycle Going into trough of current cycle – Poor Conditions WWV, Internet propagation forecasts (free) Seasonal Conditions: Season vs. Band Winter 160 – 20m Spring 40 - 6 Summer 20 - 6 Fall 40 - 10 Time Of Day Early morning (11-1600Z) 80-20m Mid-morning to mid-afternoon (16-2200Z) 20-10 Late afternoon to Sunset (22-0300Z) 20-10 Night time to Early Morning (03-1000Z) 160-40
8	Station Requirements HF Transceiver Decent receiver (sensitive & selective) Split-Frequency transmit capability important QRP to Legal Limit Computer & logging software (preferable) Antennas More is always better, but you can start modestly and do very well
9	Can you see the antennas in this photo?
10	Take a closer look!
11	Good DX Etiquette – Operating Split Listen carefully before you call a DX station on his frequency “Rare” DX stations often work SPLIT DX station announces “Up” Calling stations transmit up (usually 2-5 Khz) Everybody else can hear him without QRMing him 40 Meter SSB DX stations can’t operate above 7.100 Mhz Listen for DX station to indicate listening frequency (QSX) in US phone band
12	Finding DX the Old-Fashioned Way Listen, listen, listen But listen strategically on the right bands at the right times Collaborate with a buddy “Hey Joe, OD5NH is on 14.192!”
13	The new-fangled way: DX Clusters DX “Clusters” Hams all over the world reporting sightings of DX stations (or YOU!) Real-time Exact frequency Beam heading Packet radio & Internet-based
14	DX Cluster Demo
15	DXing Resources DX Packet Clusters (local nodes/Internet) Propagation forecasts ARRL QSL.net Local club members/E-mail reflectors, websites Internet newsletters 425 DX News Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin Daily DX ARRL DX Magazines: QST, CQ, 10/10 International Directories: IOTA, etc.
16	Going for the Gold Susan King K5DU
17	Why bother? You have a goal Logging and QSLing is how you know you’ve met your goal It’s how you prove to others that you’ve met your goal “I have RTTY DXCC, nyah, nyah.”
18	Logging Do it, even though FCC requirements have eased Be accurate: time, date, call, band, mode, grid, IOTA, etc. Use UTC, Zulu, Coordinated Universal Time Get a map, atlas - learn geography
19	How to log Lose the pencil and paper Don’t be afraid of geekiness Any PC is good enough if it runs the right software
20	Computer logging software QSOs can be entered online as you operate or offline later Must output Cabrillo (kah-bree-oh) or ADIF format Should output reports in ARRL format. DX4WIN is good, Excel is difficult
21	Logging Software (cont’d) Standalone or interfaced to rig Windows-based logging software (examples) N1MM (Free) www.n1mm.com DX4WIN (~$90) www.dx4win.com N3FJP (~$19) www.n3fjp.com Most programs allow printing QSL strips and mailing labels direct from log! Better programs provide direct LoTW interface for upload and download!
22	Printing QSL Labels Ensures your QSLs match your log Choose label text large enough to easily read. Some software prints labels this size Be kind to QSL managers!
23	Back up your log files!
24	QSL cards The Good The Bda The UgLy
25	The good
26	The bad
27	The UgLy
28	Before you send the QSL Find out where to send it Internet Resources QRZ Dot Com www.qrz.com QSL Pathfinder www.qsl.net/pathfinder/WebClient Find out how to send it How does the person want it Send dollars, IRCs, SASE
29	Three main ways… Bureau Direct or via the station’s QSL manager Logbook of the World (LoTW)
30	Bureau Outbound Send cards to a central place Wait, maybe years, for cards to come Make sure country has a bureau Inbound Have envelopes or money on deposit with your bureau Keep up to date with your sorter Offer to help your sorter
31	Direct or via a QSL manager Determine best path – direct or mgr. Enclose an SASE if US (SAE foreign) Don’t make it look like $$$$ Send enough money (usually $1-2), postage is expensive in many places Send IRCs, one unit of cheapest international postage Make an international friend
32	Logbook of The World – Paperless QSLing Send an e-mail log (Cabrillo or ADIF) to LoTW LoTW is an online database of QSO information Provided by the ARRL Not as complicated to use as it looks
33	How LoTW works You prove that you really are K5DU You send in a log Someone else sends in a log The logs are compared If K5DU and HS2ABC worked each other at the same time, band, and mode - there’s a match.
34	Confirmed QSOs
35	Getting DXCC credit Use your friendly neighborhood card checker Send cards and forms to ARRL Use LoTW
36	Applying for Awards with LoTW DXCC credit available now More awards to come Follow the simple 5-page directions Not everyone uses it
37	Other Awards Many countries, clubs, etc. give awards Look in ham magazines Listen online Do what makes you happy Do something that makes the world a better place
38	Getting Started in Contesting Gary Schmidt W5ZL
39	Contesting
40	Why enter a contest? The Casual Contester A desire to just have some fun, improve operating skills, and work new countries, states, counties, etc. from the smorgasbord of participating stations The Feisty Contester A desire to compete The Committed Contester Able to leap tall buildings with a single bound Able to master the art of sleep deprivation
41	Benefits of Contesting It’s just FUN Gets the competitive juices flowing Improves operating skills Excellent preparation for emergency operations An excellent use of our allocated spectrum Remember: “Use it or lose it.”
42	Do I Have to Have a “Contest Station”? Plenty of Big Gun contest stations Multiple radios Multiple towers Serious station automation Also plenty of “normal” stations
43	How to Win a Contest Work a lot of stations Work as many “multipliers” as possible Work smart Make good band change decisions Use efficient operating techniques Don’t waste time or words (similar to emergency operations) Know when to “Run” and when to “Search & Pounce” Know when to take a break
44	Many different types – beginner to expert SSB, CW, RTTY DX ARRL, CQWW, IARU, WPX, foreign hosted, etc. National Field Day, Sweepstakes, NAQP, VHF/UHF, State QSO Parties, etc. Specialty Sprints, FOC Marathon, SOC, SKN, etc.
45	A Contest for All Seasons/Tastes
46	Multiple categories § Single operator · Assisted/unassisted § Power · QRP, low, high Single band and/or mode (some contests) § Multi-op, single transmitter Multi-op, multi-transmitter
47	When are contests run? § Usually on weekends Starting/ending times vary by contest Durations as short as 4 hours As long as 48 hours Max operating hours also vary § Good on-line contest calendar: www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/
48	Online Contesting Resources ARRL www.arrl.org ARRL Rate Sheet newsletter http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet/ Contesting.com www.contesting.com National Contest Journal www.ncjweb.com Central Texas DX & Contest Club www.ctdxcc.org
49	Best contests to get your feet wet § Field Day § Straight Key Night State QSO Parties Many to choose from Our own (Texas QSO Party every September!)
50	What’s Req’d to Get Started? § A radio and antennas § A logging system · Pencil & paper o Tried and true, but hard to keep track of dupes · Computer based logging software o Many options from freeware to networked § DOS-based: TR Log ($60-75) www.trlog.com § Windows-based · N1MM (free) www.n1mm.com · Writelog (~$75) www.writelog.com · N3FJP ($39-49) www.n3fjp.com o Can even trigger pre-recorded voice, CW, or RTTY exchanges
51	Advanced Operation: Interfacing Your Radio Serial, USB and Parallel Options Why do it? Logging automation: less work for you = higher QSO rates Date/time Freq/mode Contest exchange Integrated “point-and-shoot” DX cluster operation Trigger transmitted exchanges
52	How do I report my results? Officially Snail mail Email Cabrillo file generated by most computerized logging programs (may be req’d to be declared a winner) Unofficially 3830 On the air http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/ At the Club
53	What Can I Win? Trophies, plaques, certificates Goodies Example: WA State QSO Party “Salmon Run” category winners receive smoked salmon QSOs toward non-contest awards § The awe and respect of your fellow competitors (aka “bragging rights”)
54	The Texas QSO Party A great place to get started in contesting! And you’ve come to the right place to learn about it!
55	Want to learn more about DXing and Contesting? Attend a CTDXCC meeting Fourth Monday of every month See website for time and place www.ctdxcc.org
56	Credits